One More Try
by Kintora
Summary: Kira starts a nasty chain reaction when he hurts Lacus's feelings, and somehow makes Athrun set the jelly green monster on Cagalli! Things will only get nastier, but wait. Kira & Athrun concoct a crazy idea to win their sweethearts back. KL, AC, Oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

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**PART ONE**

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Author: Kintora

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A/N: I have not died. Simply on a little break from my other stories till I'm ready to pick them up again. :3

I try to write longer and update sooner, but sometimes, people try to push and rush me. It doesn't work, at all. In fact, if one notices enough, they'd sooner realize that the more I'm irate, I write shorter chapters and I update infrequently. I don't do it to spite those people. I simply do it because I don't feel welcome for my efforts.

Anyhow now---In this oneshot, love turns in favor. It can be so very painful or so very sweet. Let's give it up and see if my story captures those points, shall we?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE! Enjoy!

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_**"One More Try"**_

_Lyrics by A1_

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The only source of light was the dimming blue from the half moon, shining through the glass windows of the Attha mansion hall and touching the whole place with a soft hue. Kira leaned against one of the large planes and sighed softly to himself. He looked up into the starry sky as his mind began to wander. 

He imagined himself up there in space again where the dark sky truly stretched endlessly in all directions. But he wanted to know, which direction had Fllay gone after she died. He personally didn't have a particular belief, but where would a person go after they left their lives behind? Kira felt guilt clench within his chest and he nearly spilled over in tears again.

He remembered the vessel exploding right before his eyes and he could do absolutely nothing to stop it. He could almost remember seeing her facing him through the window, begging for help before the flames took her hungrily away.

Kira snapped and smacked the glass window with his fist. He knew he could have broken it, but the glass was bullet proof. He sunk to his knees and wept a bit, biting back as many sobs as he could. He knew that if Lacus saw him like this, she would hold him and talk to him softly like no one else could do for him. But it was night, and she should be in bed. There was no one there to hold him.

"I loved you so much… Why did you have to be taken from me?

…Fllay?"

There was a shuffle of feet that he hadn't realized beforehand that someone had been watching him. He didn't see the face, but a flash of pink caught his eye before the person had gone. He heard the faint mechanical voice of a haro, "What's up, Lacus! What's up!" Kira felt dread wound inside him knowing what she must have heard.

He banged his head against the glass wishing he could just melt away. The deathly silence was deafening his ears again and he just wanted to scream, but he thought better of it. Instead, he stood up and left the hall where the sky had looked down and mocked him with regretful memories.

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Lacus had hurried away as fast as she could, part of her hoping that Kira had not noticed her and the other part wishing he would pursue her and claim that it was only a mistake. She stopped in her tracks. Only a mistake? What had she been thinking? It was only truth that Kira would never get over Fllay's loss. That girl would always be number one to him because she was his first love.

Another dread crossed her mind; one that she hoped would not arise in her heart, but it was too late. Lacus felt as if her heart went amiss and her coolness collect over her profile as it once had many times before. What if Kira really had no room for her in his heart? And that she was only a third wheel after all.

What if she was the only one of the two of them who truly fell in love? And Kira was never in love with her at all? She was lost now. She felt as if she lost him. But how could she lose him when he was never hers to begin with?

Lacus had taken herself to the mansion gardens and hid herself among the many rhododendron hedge walls by the fountain. Finally, her coolness shattered when she could hold out no longer. Large tears streaked her face as she held her hands to her face. No one seemed to be around, but still, she felt a bit embarrassed. She was always strong in her gentle ways. People had looked up to her, and here she was, not even able to collect herself.

She stifled an anguish cry and dug her pale fingers against the softness of her face. No, no one should ever see her like this. She was strong and so she will weep secretively. No one should see her this way….

"Lacus?"

Lacus forced an abrupt silence upon herself, but didn't take her hands from her eyes. She already knew who it was anyway. A small grim smile graced her lips as she spoke in a small calm voice, "Can I help you?"

"It's just… I was taking a walk when I thought someone else was also around. I really didn't mean to intrude, but…."

Lacus removed her fists from her face slightly and stared up into worried green eyes. She bowed her head quickly and put her damp hands behind her, "It's all right. I was just… walking around too… you know? Tonight is very beautiful. It's clear, and the moon is bright. Plus, it's not too cold or too warm…."

"Lacus."

Suddenly, familiar arms surrounded her comfortingly. A hand stroked her back gently as her face was pressed into his shirt in surprise. Her arms were frozen to her sides as she realized he was hugging her. This time, it was someone else comforting her and not the other way around.

A watery whimper escaped her control and soon she was crying again. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly about his waist and he held her all the more tighter, "That's it, Lacus. Whatever happened, it'll be all right soon. Let it out, I'm here for you. I'm your friend."

Now her cries weren't strangled and locked up half way. Instead, they were heart wrenching to be heard and heartbreaking to listen to. Athrun held her against him and kissed her head as he rocked gently to calm her. He'd never seen Lacus cry and it was very to close to making a man like him break down with her. He never wanted to see such a thing happen again, but he could only wonder about what had happened to make the pink-haired fairy cry as if there was a fragile glass within her that shattered and was cutting her tender heart to pieces.

Just around the corner in the garden, a young blonde stood with her hands wrapped around her. Athrun? And Lacus? Together? How…?

Trusting her eyes with what she saw, and not even waiting to hear anything, Cagalli pushed away from the wall. Careful not to make a noise, Cagalli left the place where she stood and slipped into the darkness of the garden maze.

She couldn't believe her eyes. She reprimanded herself for even eavesdropping, remembering the saying about eavesdroppers, and how every eavesdropping led to problem after problem.

Still, she had been on her way to the kitchen for a glass of milk when she saw Lacus run by the hallway she was in and towards the garden to find solitude. Was it her fault that she was worried about her friend?

She saw Lacus crying and her heart flew to her …. But then Athrun came.

And the rest proceeded from there on.

Cagalli could only concentrate on getting back to her room. She was so focused on the familiar patterns of the carpet under her feet that she collided into her brother when she rounded the corner. Instead of falling onto her butt though, Kira managed to catch her arm and steady her.

"Sorry, Cagalli."

Cagalli looked up and shook her head, "No, don't worry about it. 'Night Kira."

She started to walk again, but Kira grabbed her wrist.

"What?" Cagalli snapped, angry tears already threatening to spill.

Kira was taken back for a moment, but he spoke carefully, "Have you seen Lacus? I was trying to look for her, but the house is too big to find one person alone."

Cagalli breathed heavily through her nostrils as she replied icily, "Your girlfriend's with Athrun."

"What?" Kira was genuinely surprised at the bitter tone his sister was using. He knew she was an emotional person, but something didn't feel right.

Cagalli whipped her head back to face him and snapped, "She's with Athrun!" The blonde sighed heavily again and ripped her hand from her twin's grasp, "Damnit, I don't know what's going on…!"

Kira could say nothing as he watched his sister's shoulders shake in anger. She looked up at the dark ceiling in the hall trying to hold something back. Kira thought he saw her eyes glimmer in the pale light peeking in from around the corner, but she lowered her head and looked away before he could be sure. His thoughts were confirmed though when she swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and uttered a choked sound.

"Sorry about that. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, Kira."

With that, Kira could only watch her disappear into the shadows of the hall. He stood for a moment, stunned and unable to move his feet. When he regained his bearings, all he could do was look at his hand, which he had used to grab hers. He didn't even get a chance to inquire about what had happened.

Kira grit his teeth before deciding that a wild goose hunt tonight wasn't going to work.

He was going to talk to Athrun in the morning and see what was going on. If he was lucky, he may even catch Lacus.

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The next morning, Lacus was up at an early hour and nobody really knew where she was, and Cagalli remained locked in her room. Kira was becoming exasperated and Athrun was just confused.

It was ten in the morning when Athrun finally went to fetch Cagalli from her room since no one else could coax her out. He knew that she threw some angry fits sometimes due to stress from the council or from work. But Athrun being Athrun thought this was no different than all those other times. Little did he know that he was the problem this time.

Athrun knocked patiently on her big white double doors, knowing her temper needed to be handled gently. When there was no answer, he knocked louder.

"Cagalli?" He spoke through the door, "Hey, it's me. Would you like to talk?"

There was still no answer. He waited a little longer, but grew a bit impatient when he was still faced with a cold shoulder. Still, he spoke gently as if he was speaking to a little kid, "You know, if we talk about this, you might feel better…?"

There was a loud crash in the room and he winced. She must have been sitting on a chair or something and knocked it over when she stood up. Oh yeah, his princess was really fired up.

"GO AWAY, YOU PIG!"

Athrun was taken back, but quickly recovered. His brow creased into a frown as he grit his jaw. What was with that woman! He cleared his voice and spoke just as softly as before, only this time the under current of his tone was sharply edged, "I hope you'll reconsider what you just said. As far as I recall, I don't remember doing anything to offend you."

He heard footsteps approach the door as it opened a tiny bit. Half of her face peeked out and from what he noticed, there were lines under her eyes, signaling that she had probably been awake all night, or had been crying herself to sleep. Maybe even a little of both. Otherwise, those shadows were probably cast due to the lack of light inside her room since she hadn't even bothered to throw open the curtains yet.

"Well dig a little deeper, hon."

SLAM. Click.

The door was shut again and her tired angry face had disappeared from view.

Athrun blinked before his eyes narrowed once more. He stood close to the door, knowing from the lack of movement inside that she was still right on the other side.

"You can't expect people to understand what's happening if you don't tell them. I'm not you, so I wouldn't know what you're feeling right now if won't tell me," he added, "Besides, you could always tell me anything. What happened now?"

Cagalli's face flushed red with anger as her cheeks puffed out, ready to deliver another insult. That imbecile….

"You SHOULD know," she ground out, "YOU'RE the problem!"

Athrun dragged a hand through his navy colored hair and sighed out in frustration, "All right. Tell me what I did."

"YOU SHOULD KNOW!"

Athrun's green eyes hardened as he finally bit back, "How can I! Do you think I'd be asking if I knew?"

He heard Cagalli snort disdainfully, "Then ask me to leave you already!"

Athrun seethed, "What are you babbling about!"

"About you! About US!" Cagalli cried back at him, "You're obviously lying to me about last night. How am I to know if you've been lying all along? If you wanted to let me down all this time, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET THE DAMN THING OVER WITH ALREADY!"

Athrun banged the back of his head against the doors and shouted back at her, "YOU'RE obviously out of your mind! What made you think I was trying to leave you!"

Cagalli sputtered indignantly, "You're such a stupid, CLUELESS, moronic idiot! Always snapping back when you're the issue here!"

The navy haired man gripped his bangs as he turned his head to the side towards the door, "And you think you're being any less of a hot-tempered child!"

There was no answer, except for a thump on the other side. Suddenly, he could hear her on the ground, sniffing discreetly, even to sensitive ears. His anger quickly ceased as his brow relaxed, unable to stay mad at her, knowing he really did cross a line somewhere.

She choked out softly, "That's why isn't it? Because I'm such a baby all the time?"

Athrun sat down against the doors and tilted his head back. He propped his arms on his bent legs before him and asked softly, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said just then. But I really, really don't know what I did that made you so mad before that. Let's just talk, okay?"

On the other side, Cagalli sat with her back against the doors. Her knees were drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She bowed her head against her knees saying nothing back. She was too focused on trying to calm down.

Athrun waited and waited, but still received nothing but sniffles and the occasional hiccup. He looked down the hall, wondering if anyone would stumble upon them like this. He felt cold sweat run down his face as he thought of Kisaka being the one who would round into the hall. He tried again.

"Cagalli?"

He heard her get up and walk away. Turning his ear to the door, he listened hard, only to hear the bedsprings squeak like she had flung herself on top of her big mattress.

Looking up at the hall's light blue ceiling, he breathed out a sigh of exasperation before hanging his head. He knew that this discussion was over.

A part of him considered shoving the doors open and forcing her to talk, but the rational side of him caught his attention and reasoned that it would definitely be a bad idea for many obvious reasons.

One included getting his head beaten through the floor.

After about ten minutes or so of no noise from the other side, he realized that he should give her some time to herself before trying again.

Getting to his feet, he stretched soundly after sitting on the floor for so long. Damn, hard wood under thin carpeting was a butt-killer. He put his mouth to the door crack again and spoke quietly to her, knowing she would hear him, "Listen, I'm sorry for whatever I did, all right?"

Without any reply from her, he walked away to do his own job on checking security.

Little did he know, Cagalli was already thirty steps ahead of him already.

Quite literally too.

In her bedroom, a wind blew gently in through the wide-open balcony windows, rustling the burgundy curtains that framed them.

Cagalli was nowhere in sight.

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Kira was wandering the gardens around midday when he heard a familiar singing voice by a gurgling garden fountain. His heart pounded as he snuck closer. He imagined that he looked like a little sneak. He hated spying, but he was nervous. After last night's little scandal, he couldn't help but feel nervous about seeing her.

He looked past the rhododendron wall when he came to an opening. Lacus had her back to him at the other side of the fountain where she sat, singing to Mr. Pink in her hands, no doubt.

He listened to her lilting voice, distinguishing the familiar lullaby-like qualities of the lyrics she sang. Kira stood listening to the familiar words. Normally her songs would sooth him, but today he felt his heart sped up to an unnatural pace instead.

Waiting till after her song ended, he forced himself to walk into the little opening to talk to her, his steps hesitant, if not a little awkward.

Sensing someone nearby, Lacus looked up and turned her head to find Kira walking towards her. Just as their eyes met, Lacus looked away. She didn't want to look into his eyes and see what he was thinking. Or may be feeling.

Her heart pounded inside of her chest, threatening to burst forward, begging to be miles away from the man before her. Instead though, Lacus remained her composed self and patted the space beside her. She somehow managed to smile at him without really looking at him.

Kira took a seat next to her, a forlorn look on his face as he stared ahead. He bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he ran a hand through his wild brown hair. How was he supposed to bring anything up? How would he know if he was going to hurt her again? Question after question swam through his mind, but in his state, rational thinking sort of lost him.

Lacus too, was in turmoil. She didn't know what to say either. She at least expected him to brooch a subject between them first for he had been the one who had approached her.

Part of her was angry that he came and ruined the peace in her while the other part was ashamed that she wasn't the first one brave enough to approach him.

Suddenly both of them looked up and faced each other, beginning to speak at the same time.

"Lacus—"

"Kira—"

They both flushed as they both looked away from each other again, their hearts pounding. Kira looked up at the tall blue white sky above, the sun bright and warm on his face. He breathed in and tried again as he faced her, "Lacus… Look, I wanted to apologize to you."

Lacus fiddled with her hair as Mr. Pink bounced out of her hands to hover around her crying, "Are you all right? How are you? How are you?" She opened her mouth to speak, looking farther away towards the side, not trusting herself if she were to see him, "About what?"

Mr. Pink bounced back toward them and hopped in front of Kira, "About what? About what?" He hovered in Kira's face, almost touching his nose, "Lacus not happy!"

The pink haired songtress gasped and reached for the pink haro, but he bounded away quickly and resumed his high mechanical-voiced questions in the distance.

Lacus was about to draw her hand away, when Kira took it with the two his. She stilled and looked at him. Their eyes met again and Lacus felt her heart flutter faster than ever. She watched as he parted his mouth to speak and continued to watch entranced by the movement of his lips.

"Did you hear me, Lacus?"

Lacus blinked and took her hand away quickly, "I'm sorry. What was that?"

Kira saw her turn her face to the other side and felt her hand slip from his. His heart churned for her, but he repeated, "About last night… I really wanted to talk to you about what happened."

Lacus suddenly stood up, a smile on her lips as she looked up towards the sun, Mr. Pink bounding back towards her, "Oh dear, look at the sun! It must be way past midday and I still haven't done what I had on my agenda today!" she grinned at Kira, her eyes, he noticed, were brighter than usual, "If you'll excused me, I have somewhere that I need to go. We can talk about it later I hope."

Kira almost gave up when he watched her turn her back to him and walk out of the clearing. His eyes wandered blankly to the pink noisy haro that bounded away by her side as she disappeared.

He turned to the side and lay back on the stone fountain's edge, propping a leg up with him. Folding his arms under his head, he closed his lavender eyes against the sun. He could no longer see the clear streams of water jetting into the air, but he still heard the gurgling water clearly, the sound of ripples never quite the same as the set before.

Throwing himself into his thoughts, memories of him and Fllay and of him and Lacus welded into his conscience. His heart hurt to think of his first love, part of him trying to deny her death almost, even though he knew that she was never coming back.

_Fllay…_

Suddenly, a new pain gripped his heart. It felt like he was going to lose something or someone again. The grip of fear shed a cold sheen of sweat over him even though the warmth of the sun signaled early summer.

_Fllay…_

In his mind's eye as the blotches of color focused. Someone, a woman, stood in the dark. Her back was to him.

**_Kira…_**

**_Kira…_**

The woman turned her head to him, and smile gracing her mouth.

**_I'm here for you now…_**

Kira focused and the woman became clear.

_Lacus…_

_Lacus!_

She turned her back to him and began to walk away.

**_Don't cry alone anymore…_**

**_I'll always be there for you now…_**

**_…So will you be there for me too?_**

**_Will you, Kira?_**

**_Will you love me back, Kira?_**

**_Kira…_**

"Kira!"

Kira sat up blindingly fast and his forehead smacked painfully against someone else's.

"Ugh!"

Both stilled immediately for a moment without moving, holding their heads. The navy haired man before Kira removed his hand and shook his head, "Damnit, Kira. Why were you sleeping so soundly out here?"

Kira rubbed his head and looked up at his friend, "Sorry about that, Athrun. I guess I just dozed off." He didn't have to struggle much to remember his dream. Suddenly, all feelings of fatigue and relaxation melted away as he straightened up.

That's right…

Fllay was gone. She was an angel watching over things from wherever she was.

But Lacus…

Kira's brows furrowed as he realized whom he was really going to miss if he kept holding onto the past. Though Fllay will always be there watching over, she was a memory now.

And Lacus was not.

These days, his time belonged with his pink haired lady. She had always been beside him— the whole time, living with him, breathing with him, and cherishing him with all of her heart.

And all this time… He had only been able to give back half of his?

He finally understood now.

"Hey, Kira. Are you all right?" Athrun asked worriedly. Kira was zoning out so much more than usual, Athrun almost thought that their little head collision was not so little after all.

Kira shook his head and stood up to face Athrun, his heart lighter than it had ever been before. Still, he caught Athrun's angsty look, "Hey, did I crack your head too hard or something?"

Athrun blinked for a moment before laughing lightly, "I could say the same for you. But actually, I was thinking of something else."

Kira narrowed his eyes playfully, "Someone else you mean, right?"

Athrun smiled sheepishly, "That's right."

"Anything I can help you with?"

Athrun followed Kira back out of the garden and towards the kitchen, "Actually, there is. You wouldn't happen to be able to get Cagalli out of her bedroom, would you?"

Kira's eyebrows lifted knowingly. He remembered wanting to talk to Athrun about his sister's behavior last night, but it seemed that his friend had gotten to it first. He asked anyway as he turned his head to the side, "You mean you couldn't get her out?"

"No dice."

"I get it."

Athrun stopped in his tracks as Kira kept walking towards the giant glass doors that led to the dining room. The bluenette shook his head and ran after Kira.

"Wait," Athrun said as Kira opened the door. The brow-haired coordinator turned to face him, the clear glass door propped open by his hand. Athrun started to speak again, "Do you know why she's so upset?"

Kira looked up at the sky thoughtfully before answering carefully, "I've got an idea at least."

"Oh?"

Kira sighed as he pushed passed the door, holding it open for Athrun as they both crossed into the giant air-conditioned dining room, "Lacus overheard my little moment of reminisce last night… over Fllay," Kira continued, his voice hanging with shame, "I couldn't catch her in time and lost her track. But I'm guessing she bumped into you."

"And Cagalli?"

"She saw you with Lacus."

Kira pushed past the double doors into the kitchen where the chefs were working away at dinner. Athrun followed his friend's quick pace, but his eyes were confused, "She got mad because of that?"

Kira grabbed a granny smith apple from one of the fridges and tossed Athrun a Fuji one. He shut the white door and continued back into the dinning room with Athrun at his heels.

"You know how people get jealous sometimes. I think Cagalli just saw both of you at the wrong place at the wrong time, and then thought about the wrong thing too," He took a bite from his green apple and swallowed before he spoke guiltily again, "Part of it's my fault for setting off this chain reaction, you could say."

Athrun snorted and also took a bite, "Don't you go blaming yourself. Things just happen, now we just have to fix it somehow."

The two sat at the long polished table in momentary silence, the midday sun casting warm rays through the high windows of the oversized space. Each was left to his own thoughts for the time being, trying to devise a way to clean up their act.

Suddenly, Athrun stood up, the remaining of his apple cast into a nearby trashcan. It had already been a while since he last checked up on Cagalli.

"I'm going to go find her right now."

Kira also tossed out the pit in his hand, "I should probably go with you if she decides to kill you."

"Thanks," Athrun said sarcastically, but grinned at his friend anyway.

The two of them made their way up through the frighteningly vast maze of a mansion to expecting to find Cagalli in her room.

Athrun knocked gently on her door, "Princess?"

Kira snickered behind his hand at the fond, but literal nickname. Athrun glared at him, but tried again at the door, "Cagalli? Hey open up. It's me, and your silly excuse of a brother."

Athrun felt Kira jab his ribs, but the bluenette shoved the offending appendage away.

When there was still no answer, Athrun and Kira shared a concerned look, all trace of humor gone. Athrun turned the knob, but it still held in place; locked. Finally, he brought his foot against the door and kicked it open.

Both brother and boyfriend of the missing princess were faced with the sight of an empty bedroom, the warm wind blowing through the still open windows, robbing the place of air conditioning.

Kira and Athrun ran inside, hoping this was just some kind of joke, only to realize Cagalli really was missing.

Athrun ran to the bed where he last thought he had heard her drop onto during their last unpleasant encounter. He saw an obvious lump under the covers, looking like there was someone underneath. But to his trained eye, he knew it was a decoy.

Drawing back the covers anyway, he saw a suitcase thrown on top to create weight and a bunch of pillows pushed together shaping the rough outline of a sleeping figure. He cursed as he turned to look at Kira.

The worried brother was checking for signs of struggle, and was relieved that there were none. But where could his rascal of a twin sister be now?

"Hey, Kira! Over here," Athrun's attention was back on the bare bed, "Look at the covers…"

Kira's eyes caught sight of his sister's large downy bed, stripped of covers and blankets except for the top decorative one. Pieces of the puzzle before them were fitting into place as they realized that she must have climbed down somehow. The two of them scrambled to the window to see a long white tail of the bed covers tied together and floated lightly in the breeze outside, hanging from the side of the balcony.

"Great…" Kira muttered, "That's my baby sister for you."

"No kidding!" Athrun said exasperatedly through his teeth, "That crazy girl."

Kira glanced over at him, "I guess we're gonna have to follow her then."

"Guess!" Athrun was already marching out of the room, "Knowing her, we might have to scout all day by foot."

Kira whacked his friend over the shoulder lightly, "Not on foot. Seriously, that would take us all day."

"What do you suppose we do then?" Athrun asked irritably, walking all the more faster, his eyes blazing with concern.

"I don't know," Kira said innocently. Suddenly, his hand whipped in and out of Athrun's back pocket. The brunette jingled a key chain full of car keys in Athrun's face making him stop for a moment.

"One of your sports cars sounds like a better idea though," Kira said.

Athrun grumbled as he snatched the keys from Kira's hand and marched off with the brunette walking in equal strides with him.

Athrun's green eyes burned as he looked ahead of him.

_What have I done?_

_Jeez._

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A/N: PART ONE executed! Now PART TWO will be out on March 14th (White day). :) Please be patient… It was supposed to be a long one shot, but I thought this little break would be beneficial. 

Hope you'll come check this again March 14th then. :3

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	2. Chapter 2

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**PART TWO**

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Author: Kintora

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A/N: Oh yes, the long awaited day, WHITE DAY! (Throws confetti) Even though the guys should be the ones giving out gifts today, this is my gift to you. :) Please enjoy!

BTW, I'll post all replies on my livejournal from now on. I'm apologizing ahead of time in case I miss yours by accident. However, I will not hassle over short reviews like "Hurry up and update." Just a note. :)

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**_"One More Try"_**

_Lyrics by A1_

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Cagalli shielded her eyes against the bright sunshine reflecting off the busy street of Orb. She squinted at the street sign before crossing with the rest of the pedestrians. She took her hand away from her face and grabbed a fist of her shirt, tugging at it to create some sort of wind.

Damn! It was so darned hot outside today!

Fumbling inside her bag, Cagalli took out a cap and pulled it securely onto her head and proceeded to shove on her sunglasses. She hurried onto the street corner and adjusted her jeans, rolling them up into makeshift capris.

Looking up, she scanned the surroundings again and headed for the park, her ice cream radar honing in on some frozen goodies. As she crossed the street again, her hand dug into her pocket and fished for some change. Absent-mindedly, Cagalli thought about her friends and what they were doing right now.

After waiting in line for her rocky road with cookies n' cream mega-cup, Cagalli found a patio seat in the shade for some alone time. She dug her spoon into her ice cream and began to eat.

Meanwhile, her thoughts kept running way with her brain. First she started thinking about what she SHOULD be doing right now. Ahem, meaning she should be in the boring conference in yet another boring meeting, with yet more boring lectures to go till possibly five in the afternoon. Kicking back in her chair, Cagalli grinned to herself and chuckled inwardly. One afternoon of stolen freedom sounds so good to her ears.

A little part of her still nagged in the back of her head. Then again, she is the leader of Orb and her responsibility included this, and this, and this, and this, and this….

She tried very hard to stuff that particular voice away though.

Her thoughts only led into more dangerous territory as they reminded her of a man she knew very well, who was probably the most responsible person on the whole planet. And gosh, he had the most gorgeous green eyes and the smoothest cool face. Just thinking about him made Cagalli want to….

Cagalli screamed at herself and whacked her head as she jumped out of her seat.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she looked around only to meet many pairs of curious eyes. Flushing with embarrassment, Cagalli sat back down as dignifiedly as possible and resumed to eating her ice cream calmly.

"Cagalli? Is that you?"

Cagalli nearly choked on her spoon.

"Lacus?" the princess croaked, her eyes blinking back tears.

Lacus drew a seat from the table and sunk into it, waving a hand at her face for some air, "Oh my word, today is so hot."

Cagalli collapsed back into her chair and covered her eyes, "You said it."

Lacus stopped fanning herself and let her pink tendrils settle again. She gazed at her friend before giggling. Cagalli moved her hand onto her forehead and looked at Lacus with a strange expression, "What?"

"You have ice cream all over you chin."

"Huh?" Cagalli rubbed her chin and sure enough, the milky remains of ice cream came off onto her hands, "Oh…"

Lacus stood up again and riffled through her purse before handing a clean tissue to Cagalli, "I'm gonna go get myself some of that ice cream and then we chat, okay?"

Cagalli nodded as she rubbed away the remaining trails of ice cream, "All right," she sat up straighter, "But then I'm gonna have you clear up some stuff with me."

Lacus looked on with surprise, but nodded wordlessly before walking over to the vendor. A few minutes later, she came back with a strawberry ice in hand and sat down again across from Cagalli.

Neither said anything at first before Cagalli fidgeted, unable to stand the silence anymore, "Lacus…" Lacus looked up and set her spoon down, "Yes?"

Cagalli squirmed under her friend's curious scrutiny, "I wanted to know… well, you see…"

Lacus became worried and leaned in, "What's wrong?"

The blonde stopped and twisted her hands, "Do you still like Athrun or something? As in, really, really like him? I mean… I was wondering because… since…"

Lacus smiled gently and put her hands in her lap, "To say I never liked him would be a lie," she saw Cagalli squirm again and continued on just as gently, "But to say I ever liked him the way you do would also be a lie."

Cagalli snapped her head up and stopped fidgeting altogether, "Then what about last night? I saw you two in the garden. I really thought you two were still… together."

"The engagement was arranged, remember?" Lacus began, "We're planning on canceling it now that we can make our own decisions since our parents have all passed on."

Cagalli knew when her friend was beating around the bush, "Lacus, what exactly happened last night?"

Lacus tried to feign mild surprise, "Nothing happened between us, that's for sure."

"Well, I know that now. But what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" Lacus said cautiously.

Cagalli leaned forward in her chair and fiddled with her spoon, "I saw you crying last night, even before you were with Athrun."

Lacus was silent as she picked up her spoon to eat again. Cagalli sighed and picked at her own ice cream. The silence dragged on, and soon Cagalli's attention focused onto some noisy kids running around on the playground nearby.

"It was…about Kira."

Cagalli snapped out of her trance, "What about him?"

"He just said some things that I wish I hadn't heard."

Cagalli was instantly alert, "Did that bubble head hurt you?"

"No! No, it's not like that!" Lacus said fervently, "I really shouldn't have eavesdropped anyway."

"I think I see where it went," Cagalli ended it, knowing Lacus was becoming quite uncomfortable. Suddenly, she had a great idea, "Hey, do you want to have a girls' afternoon out?" Cagalli winked, "No guys allowed to ruin it."

Lacus laughed and agreed, "Did you have anything in mind?"

Cagalli sat back a little dejected, "Well, I haven't thought that far yet."

"Then I know what we can do!" Lacus clapped her hands together giddily.

"Shopping?" Cagalli offered, trying to think on Lacus's train of thought.

Lacus shook her head, "Not really, but that's also a good idea. I was actually thinking about going down to the beach. But I take it you didn't bring a swimsuit either."

Cagalli could only stare at her, "Swimsuit?"

The pink haired girl grinned cheerfully, "That settles it then. We'll go shopping for new swimsuits and whatever else we need, then we're hitching it down to the beach."

Cagalli dropped her forehead onto the table and waved the white flag.

………

* * *

……… 

Half an hour later, Lacus was pushing Cagalli into one shop after another. Together, they were able to buy some towels and suntan lotion as well as shampoo for later use. Currently, Lacus was trying very hard to drag Cagalli into the women's clothing department.

"Cagalli, you said you would go to the beach with me! You can't go into the ocean in jeans!" Lacus urged, pulling on Cagalli's wrist.

Cagalli pulled back, effectively starting a game of tug-a war, "No, I didn't say anything."

"But you gave up. Anyway, weren't you the one who wanted to spend the afternoon with me?" Lacus queried tugging back on her friend's hand.

Cagalli grumbled, running out of reasons, "Well, I didn't think we'd be going down to the beach."

"Is something wrong with the beach?" Lacus asked, her big periwinkle eyes peering at Cagalli.

Cagalli huffed and began to count off her fingers, "Yes! First, we'll fry in lobsters. Then get stalked by weirdoes, all cause we're wearing too little, and– well, you know the rest."

"But you said you didn't mind.'

"I didn't say that! I said I didn't think about what to do, or something on those lines."

"So I thought it up for us. Now come one, Cagalli! Look, there's a sale on swimming wear today!"

Cagalli opened her mouth to retort something back, but Lacus merely took her by the hand again and pulled Cagalli in with her.

They passed various aisles with all sorts of clothes going on sale. Rain wear, sweatshirts, denim wear, shoes, lingerie (Cagalli turned away upon seeing a transparent nightdress), and so on and so forth. Lacus cast her eyes about with mild interest as she walked. Stopping once or twice to admire something or other, before proceeding to usher Cagalli further and further into the maze.

Cagalli dragged her feet, muttering a complain every now and then under her breath, but followed her friend anyway. Sooner than she would have liked, the two arrived before the many racks of swimming suit articles. The blonde was about to turn around and walk again before Lacus grabbed her by the arm and walked both of them in.

Lacus began to rifle through any that caught her eyes as Cagalli watched her. Suddenly Lacus stood up straight again and pulled a pile onto Cagalli, "Go check those out. I'm sure they're your size."

Cagalli looked at the articles in her arms and pulled out a pink poka-dot bikini, "You want me to try this on?"

Lacus smiled, "Well, it won't hurt."

"Huh! Why don't you put it on then, Lacus?" Cagalli said jokingly.

Lacus shrugged and took the hanger from Cagalli and disappeared in the changing rooms with a smile. And instant later, she stepped out and turned around before the mirror, "See Cagalli? No harm in trying."

Cagalli sighed. She should've known that Lacus would look good in anything. She trudged her way into the changing room as well. Cagalli disrobed and snapped on all the one pieces. She looked into the dressing mirror with a critic's eyes before pulling one after the other off into the discard pile by her feet.

Having nothing left but two pieces; Cagalli tried them on too, before shrugging them all off again. Nothing seemed to work. This was why she hated shopping! Whenever she couldn't find something she liked, it somehow went back to nag at her self-esteem.

Cagalli stepped out again and went back to the racks just as one of the working ladies went into Cagalli's hurricane of a dressing room. Lacus was still looking through tags and designs when Cagalli stopped before her. The pink haired singer looked up and raised her eyebrows, "Nothing you liked?"

"Maybe I should just go buy some shorts and a t-shirt. They'd work too right?"

Lacus turned back to her rack and in a blink of an eye; she had another pile of swimsuits for Cagalli, "Try these then. There's bound to be something."

Cagalli was about to turn on her foot to head back in when Lacus called out to her, "Wait!" Lacus continued, "I'm going to see you in every one those that I picked out for you so I know you're not just putting them all to the side."

"Can't you trust me more, Lacus?" Cagalli asked.

"Not on this," Lacus replied with the same smile.

The two walked towards the dressing room passing the same working lady on the way. She gave them and queer look and sighed before going about with other business meant attending to.

The next half an hour, Cagalli tried on the swimsuits Lacus had picked out.

"I think this one look nice on you, Cagalli. But I wonder if they have it in another color."

"It's too tight."

"How about this one?"

"Doesn't it make my butt look big?"

"Oh dear… Oh just give the pink poka-dot bikini one a try, will you?"

Light arguing commenced and Cagalli begrudgingly fixed herself into the pink poka-dot bikini.

"It… doesn't look that bad."

"Say it, Lacus."

"Well, pink poka-dots probably just aren't for you."

"I should pass a law that pink poka-dotted bikinis are illegal."

"Now, now Cagalli. Oh, this one may be better!"

Thus, Cagalli was haggled into yet another two-piece and so on and so forth. Though, she had to admit that two pieces look better on her… Eventually, Cagalli loosened up and settled on a pretty green-shaded two-piece. As for Lacus, she took the pink poka-dotted one for fun.

………

* * *

……… 

Cagalli collapsed onto her towel spread on the sand underneath her. She brought her arm over her eyes and soaked up the pleasant burning sun glare on her almost bare body. "Oh my god! This feels good!"

Lacus settled on her towel and squeezed suntan lotion onto her hand, "If feels good now, but remember your lobster theory? Here, put some of this on, then we can rubbed it onto each other's back."

As Lacus smeared lotion over herself, Cagalli busied herself by setting up the portable umbrella they had bought for much needed shade. Then she planted herself back down just as Lacus handed her the bottle.

Cagalli slapped on some lotion over her long legs and rubbed her tummy with more lotion. She coated herself thoroughly before turning to help Lacus with her back. When they were both done, they stood up.

"Race you?" Cagalli asked.

"Like I could beat you," Lacus joked.

Moments later, Cagalli was bobbing out some distance away from shore. The waves weren't particularly strong today but they were strong enough to drift her out to sea if she wasn't careful. Personally, she was more of desert person, preferring a sea of sand instead of a sea of water. But floating out here on her back, it worked too…

Her eyes were drooping when she heard Lacus's voice some way away calling out to her. She snapped to attention and flipped over again to tread. Lacus was grinning cheekily at her, but what really caught her attention were the two men standing beside Lacus. The two men were staring at Cagalli, albeit a little disgruntled.

Cagalli sunk lower into the water not liking the way her brother or her bodyguard looked at her. Yes, they had reason to be angry with her, but most of it was their own fault! She glared back at the guys before dunking completely into the sea.

Wandering down into the cerulean depths, Cagalli dove deeper and deeper into the clear blue. She was pretty far from shore, for here she was, standing right on the slope of the island, at least seven or ten feet from the surface. It became darker and colder further into the ocean, but she didn't plan to go so far. Instead, she swam towards the shore again, agile like a tropical fish.

She passed by the shallow coral reefs and marveled at their beauty. It was a good thing that Orb was so advanced in technology for keeping the environment safe was a big strength here. She wormed her way towards the feet of many tourists as she neared the immediate waters surrounding the shore.

Her lungs burned as she popped up for air, whipping water out of her hair. She squeezed the tendrils as she trudged out and towards her friends. As she neared them, they came quickly to her side.

Kira had a slight frown that matched her own. But Athrun looked like a cross between angered and worried. Cagalli's frown increased, but Lacus's cool touch on her shoulder reminded her to be the one to calm down first.

There was an awkward silence between the four of them, none knowing what to say to the others. Just as Athrun was going to open up his mouth to form some sort of frustrated comment, Lacus smoother her way in, "I remember passing by a vendor nearby. Anyone want anything?"

Kira relaxed, clearly resolved by Lacus's mild words. He was able to make a small smile for her and Cagalli readily agreed. Athrun remained quiet. Lacus looked at him inquiringly and he slowly made a sign that he acknowledged.

There wasn't much talk as they venture for some food nearby, other than poor attempts at asking what each other had been up to. Especially the extra tension between Cagalli and Athrun made the carefully held atmosphere somewhat breakable.

That wasn't to say that either was going to back down for an argument. Lacus and Kira ended up buying the fries and sodas as they made their way back to towels, with the quarreling couple trailing behind them.

"Don't you know how worried I was over you? You just up and gone!"

"Well MAYBE if someone weren't so dense, I'd probably be in the mansion, sitting my ass away in that damned meeting!"

"It's your responsibility as a leader! You're MY responsibility!"

"So you're afraid of how you'll look in front of your superiors?"

"That's absolutely irrelevant. And no, that's not why!"

"Then what IS!"

"Why don't you tell me! You seem to sound like you know everything."

"You are SO DENSE!"

Just then, Cagalli felt like throwing sand in his face and marching away with a trail of fire behind her. But she was a princess and princesses didn't do stuff like that. Well, during a war maybe, but this was just a battle.

"Um, guys. The ice will melt if you don't drink up," Kira began.

More arguing commenced.

Lacus cleared her throat, "Won't you guys want some of the fries we've got here?"

Arguing led to Cagalli holding Athrun in a strangle headlock, her knees digging into his sides as she yelled at him. Lacus looked up at Kira, wondering if he had any ideas.

A light bulb seemed to click in Kira's mind and he quickly cried out, "Hey Cagalli! Look! The ice cream van!"

Cagalli dropped Athrun and looked up, "Where?"

Athrun escaped and grabbed Cagalli into a vice-like embrace. Cagalli thrashed, throwing sand everywhere making Lacus back up with the food safely untouched. Kira was feeling exasperated as he put his hands on his sister's shoulders, "Hey, you might want to calm down. We're getting looked at."

Cagalli cast her eyes around and sure enough, for the second time today, she was getting gawked at. She stilled with her face aflame and Kira let go. Athrun placed an arm around Cagalli and sat beside her silently.

Lacus walked back and offered up food and drink, "Want some?"

Cagalli took a fry and nibbled on it, her face still sunburn red. Soon, they were all able to loosen up and chat civilly, which turned into one of their regular conversations, pretending as if nothing was wrong.

Lacus, Kira, and Athrun were sitting back in the shade to relax, as Cagalli put on more lotion, ready to go in for another dive. Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard calling over the crowd and it just happened that Cagalli heard her.

"Mari! Mari, where are you! Honey?"

Cagalli watched the mother pass by frantically, looking high and low everywhere. Normally, Cagalli wasn't overcome with a situation like this, but it called for attention now, and no one seemed to want to help the poor woman, "Ma'am, are you looking for someone?"

The woman looked around everywhere but paused to look at Cagalli, "Y-yes. I'm looking for my daughter. She was just with me, but I wasn't paying attention and now she's– she's –!"

Cagalli asked patiently, "What does she look like? Maybe I can help?"

The woman said quickly as her eyes were once again looking around again, "She's got brown hair to the shoulders… Um… Oh dear, she's barely even five! She hardly knows how to swim! Where could she be!"

Cagalli's sharp eyes were already roving around the crowd, but suddenly a dot far out from shore caught her eye and she narrowed them to focus. Suddenly her eyes widened, "She can't swim?"

"No! She was supposed to start lessons this summer!" The mother wailed.

Cagalli tossed the bottle of lotion to a bewildered Kira and dashed off towards the ocean for the little black dot of little girl drifting farther and farther away from shore.

Cagalli dodged various people causing many of them to mutter disgruntled words, but her viscous glares to get them out of the way worked anyway. Crashing straight into the water, Cagalli didn't even pause but changed from running to swimming in one fluid motion. She focused on the little who seemed to be growing ever smaller in the distance.

Swimming wasn't exactly Cagalli's greatest sport, but she managed much better than many people. Right now, her abilities pushed their limits as she continued to cut through wave after wave like a knife through butter. By now, she could hear people on shore crowding nearby to watch as they became more alert. But Cagalli paid them no heed.

The little girl's choked cries were becoming more audible as Cagalli neared her steadily. The blonde squinted against the sun glare over the violent rippling surface of the ocean. The blaze was everywhere and she could no longer see the girl, just hear her. Gulping down air, Cagalli thrust herself under the waves and into the splotchy endless blue of the sea.

She saw the legs of a little girl kicking fervently in every direction and Cagalli propelled forward eve faster, knowing that the kid wouldn't last long like that. Having about fifteen feet to go, Cagalli saw signs of the child beginning to sink. Cagalli mentally cursed as she dove deeper to intercept the child as she sank.

Wrapping her arms around the tiny girl, Cagalli pulled them up to the surface to relieve the burning in the lungs with some much needed air. Their heads burst to the surface and both began to cough and splutter. Cagalli held the child up securely towards the surface and kept her there as she kept them both afloat.

"Hey hun, we've got to get back to shore real soon," Cagalli began trying to make the girl relax, "You can hear me, right? Don't panic and stay still for now. I promise to keep you up for air, but you have to help me a little. I'm too tired to make it the whole way by myself."

The child watched Cagalli with wide frightened eyes but nodded mutely with a jerk of her head. The blonde instructed the girl onto her back and to breathe deeply and evenly while moving her small arms and legs. "That's it, you're getting it," Cagalli sighed, "Now we're going to head for shore…."

Cagalli squinted and caught sight of the crowds on the shoreline far off, "…Which will take us a while, but we can make it, right?" The girl struggled to smile, but frowned on just keeping herself afloat. Slowly, Cagalli was able to steer and pull them both towards the shore.

She saw a few people attempting towards them and sighed mentally with relief. At least she can make it to the island slope and get intercepted. That sounded good to her aching limbs. One thing's for sure. There's been enough swimming for today and possibly the entire month.

"We've got people coming to help us Mari. Hang on a little longer."

They drew close to the slope and sure enough, a few of the better swimmers came up to them, congratulating Cagalli as they took Mari from her aching arms and levered her away. Cagalli was about to follow when she felt something tug on her angle sharply. Dipping her head down, she saw that some sort of fishing twine had somehow found its way around her ankle.

Unfortunately, the wind decided to pick up just then as wave after wave started to sweep over her head. Cagalli gasped, tied to one place and pumped her arms as best she could. The water surrounded up to her chin and began to move up unevenly before another small wave swallowed up her head. Cagalli struggled for air again and turned to call out for help.

Two bad things were happening. One, they wouldn't be able to hear her. Two, she was getting tired and grumpy.

Cagalli dunked under again and struggled to rip away the snagging twine around her ankle. She grit her teeth, not liking the way the plastic string was way too tough to cut without a knife. She straightened up again and searched for the surface.

Third bad thing was happening. The water had RISEN and she was going to DIE, damnit!

She was good at holding her breath. She always had been, unless she was scared.

And right now, she was down right terrified not seeing any solution for her.

Pulling frantically at the twine, Cagalli struggled to untangle it or somehow wiggle her ankle out. Knowing her time was running out, Cagalli looked for a jagged rock. Any damned jagged rock! She grabbed the nearest one and tried to saw at the twine.

Stars prickled her eyes as Cagalli worked, and she felt faint. Her thoughts clouded even more and her hands grew sluggish. Next, she couldn't tell if she was sawing at her fingers or the string anymore.

Suddenly something was trying to take the rock from her hand. All she could think was that the rock was her token to freedom and whatever was there was simply in the way. She lashed out blindly, and the thing before her only took her roughly by the arms. She choked on a mouth full of water in as tons of precious air bubbles escaped her open mouth.

Cagalli's eyes widened as she froze momentarily before fighting full vengeance again. That was when she was pulled forcefully up that she realized the surface was coming closer and closer.

Sure enough, she felt water run down her face and hair as she broke through the water with a heavy gasp. She spat and felt sick with all the swallowed water. Someone was pulling her again towards the shore and she let him. For all she knew, she was just focusing on breathing right now.

They crashed onto the shore as people gathered around. Cagalli lay on her back gasping, still feeling as if her head would never clear up. She rolled over onto her hands and expelled the rest of the water from her tortured lungs.

People were whispering and speaking all at once, and she faintly her someone yelling for the area to be cleared for room. Personally, she didn't really care right now. Faintly, she heard Lacus and Kira trying to talk to her. Maybe it was her imagination, but her head felt really clogged for some reason.

"C-Cagalli," a voice rasped right next to her.

Cagalli took her hands from her head, "Athrun?"

"You hit really hard when you're actually trying," Athrun coughed as he sat up with a hand on his wet chest.

The blonde snorted, "It was your fault."

Athrun pointed at her ankle, "Actually, you can blame your whole drowning scenario on _that_."

Sure enough, the fishing twine remained where it was, still tangled to her foot only the fraying end showing that it had been cut somehow. Cagalli growled under her breath. She should pass a law that made fishing twine illegal too.

Poka-dot bikinis and fishing twine. What the hell.

Speaking of poka-dot bikinis, Lacus hovered next to the faint looking blonde, "Cagalli?"

Cagalli's headed pounded, "Yes?"

"Would you like to go home now?"

"No."

"Cagalli," It was Kira this time, now that he had successfully fended off the unwelcome spectators, "I think we should go back. You've had enough for today."

Cagalli glared at him. "I'm fine," She bit out.

Kira shrugged and sat next his sister, "You really gave us a fright out there. When you didn't surface, we all thought you over exhausted yourself and floated away somewhere."

Cagalli rolled her eyes, "Somewhere? More like the ocean floor." She ran a hand through her wet hair, "Anyway, sorry about that if I really did worry you."

Kira shook his head lightly with a smile towards his sister before he stood again, "I'm heading back over to pack things up," he looked over at Lacus, "Will you help me?"

Lacus nodded mutely up the beach with Kira, giving Cagalli another worried glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the throngs of people.

"Cagalli," Athrun said calmly after a moment. He wringed water from her soaked shirt and pants.

"What is it?"

"We're going back."

The blonde's eyes narrowed angrily, "Didn't you hear me say that I'm not? You guys can go on ahead, but I feel like having some time to myself."

"And have you drown if you set foot into the water again?" Athrun snapped, his temper reaching Cagalli's level, "I don't think so. No more suicide attempts for today, princess."

Cagalli stood up stiffly, "Listen, you may be my bodyguard, but you're not someone who can give me orders."

Athrun stood up slowly, his clothing already beginning to dry as he dusted sand off of him. Somehow, he still managed to some off as opposing even while being casual. Neither spoke for a moment before he finally told her evenly, "We are going back to the villa with Lacus and Kira, princess."

Cagalli's eyes flared dangerously, "Don't you boss me around like that."

The two stood glaring as Lacus and Kira ventured towards them, everything in tow. A silence stretched between all four of them. Kira cleared his throat, "Guys, lets go."

Lacus put a hand on Cagalli's shoulder, "We'll be waiting by the car, okay?" She looked between Athrun and Cagalli nervously, before leading the way with Kira to the parking lot above the beach nearby.

Athrun spoke first, "Are you finished with your tantrum yet?"

Cagalli merely stared at him with hard eyes.

It was going to take forever and a lifetime if he didn't do something. Athrun could just see it.

………

* * *

……… 

Lacus sighed as she leaned against the car door having put everything into the trunk with Kira's help. She wasn't exactly tired. That was only half the reason. The other was the fact that there was still some sort of tension between her and Kira. She admitted to herself that this quite uncomfortable indeed. What were they even going to talk about?

Well, she the answer to that question, but still. She felt very edgy; knowing that the level she had stood with Kira on had been endangered.

Kira felt very much the same with Lacus and knew that this matter was going to take some gentle handling. If it wasn't going to be resolved today alone, it may take a few more days. And only a few more days, tops, Kira thought to himself, he really didn't want to drift away from Lacus. Ever.

"Lacus…" Kira finally began, "Can we talk?"

Lacus inclined her head, "Sure."

Kira swallowed thickly, "About last night. I didn't mean for you to hear that," he ran a hand through his messy locks, "Listen, I hardly even know how to begin right now."

"I want you to say it."

Kira was startled by Lacus's cool tone of voice, "What do you mean? Say what?"

Lacus closed her eyes and adjusted the strap on her shoulder absent mindedly, "I want to hear whether or not I'm for you or not."

"You know what I'll say."

Lacus remained placid with difficulty, "Maybe. But I want to hear you say it."

Kira rubbed his eyes, "I just don't know how to." He saw the alarmed gaze from Lacus and quickly assured her, "No, that's not it! But to put my heart's words into actual words is just too much more than what I can voice."

Lacus smiled sadly, "That's it? You're nervous about that?"

Kira felt the enigmatic atmosphere from Lacus and didn't know what to say for a moment, "In a way, but…"

"AHTRUN YOU PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

Both turned their heads to see where Cagalli's roar had come from and flinched. Athrun held Cagalli's legs firmly to him, while her upper half was flung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. It was neither the most comfortable or dignified position.

"ATHRUN!" Cagalli buffered up again with a do-what-I-say-or-die voice, "RIGHT NOW! OR I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW HARD I CAN KNOCK SENSE INTO YOU WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT!"

Athrun said nothing. He was the absolute opposite from the princess of Orb when she was angry. While she was all pumped and flaming, he remained stony with an icy look in his eyes. As he approached Lacus and Kira, his look relaxed somewhat, but that didn't save Cagalli from getting plopped into the backseat rather unceremoniously.

The ride back to the mansion was uneventful, and everyone remained silent, even as Athrun's crazy speed driving made their hearts thump.

Athrun screeched the car to a stop before the gates and drove in the instant they were opened up. He drove down the long drive and took the second turn to park the car in the wide ground's parking space. The car moved into pace in one fluid stop and they all sat for a while, not moving.

Lacus was the first to rise, quickly followed by Kira. She and Kira both saw the look in Athrun's eyes and knew he wanted time alone with just Cagalli. The two disappeared, saying they'd get someone to fetch the things from the car in a bit.

The silence dragged on, grating Cagalli's nerves. Finally wrenching herself up, she stepped out of the car and slammed the door. Just as she was leaving, Athrun's hand shot out and closed on her wrist, "Where do you think you're going?"

"My room," Cagalli said quietly.

"Stay here."

Cagalli twisted her hand viscously from Athrun, "I'm NOT your dog."

"I know that," Athrun said, "Stay here a moment anyway. I'd like to talk to you."

"Well, maybe I don't want to listen to you right now."

Athrun sighed, "Will you please sit down and talk with me?"

Cagalli glowered at him, but leaned against the door, "What do you want?"

"I'm guessing Lacus told you what happened. So I want to know why you're still so angry at me."

"You just have a way of annoying me!" Cagalli said, "You could say that I'm still angry at you because I can't stop being angry at you right now."

"Why not?"

Cagalli ground her teeth, "Because I'm angry with myself for still being angry with you!"

Athrun gave her a strange look, "You know, that made sense in a weird way."

Cagalli threw hands up, "I'm going to go change. I can't stand staying here one more minute."

Athrun watched Cagalli's retreating figure before drumming his fingers against the steering wheel to a song that was stuck in his head. It sort of reminded him about what was going on. Just as his thoughts were running away with him, a random idea popped into his head. But for it to happen, he needed to find Kira.

Grinning to himself, Athrun got out of the car just as a butler came to collect the things from the trunk.

………

* * *

……… 

It was nighttime when Cagalli decided to find solace for herself by the pool. Her shoes lay carelessly next to her as she tugged her capris up to her thighs. Dipping her feet into the cold blue water before her, she began to trail patterns back and forth across the surface.

Her mind wandered over the things she said to Athrun and felt her face heat. Strangely, she felt better giving her rough little confession, but a part of her still felt embarrassed. Who got angry the way she did?

Just then, soft footsteps were heard and Cagalli looked up to find Lacus walking up to her. The pale moonlight shone bright and clear on Lacus's alabaster skin as she sat down to join Cagalli.

"Evening, Cagalli. Do you mind?"

Cagalli shook her head, "No. What're you doing here anyway?"

"Probably the same reason you're here. To think I suppose."

There was a short silence as they watched the fireflies in the distant bushes venture farther out over the pool towards. Cagalli stopped moving her legs and simply let the water still. The gentle blinking glows on the waters calm surface entranced both of their minds in the eerie silence as other creatures of the night made their debut.

"The guys… "Cagalli began, "What do you suppose they're doing now?"

Lacus laughed good-naturedly, "Maybe they're not far off from us. It's been a trying day for all of us, and none of us can fix it all alone."

Cagalli lay back onto her back and starred into the wide starry expanse above. She stretched out her hands, feeling as if she could grab those stars in her grasps if she tried, "It's like we can all see the solution right there in front of us… But none of can reach it for some reason."

"You could say that," Lacus agreed gently, "But I think we're all just kind of nervous to be the first one to fix things up."

"Yeah, maybe."

Just as the companionable silence was about to lengthen again, a guitar began to strum a pleasant harmony somewhere, drawing the attention of both girls. The two looked at each other for a moment before looking for the source.

Cagalli was the first to find the source and her mouth fell open upon looking up at the balcony facing the pool. Lacus followed her friend's eyes as well and her pink brows lifted as a smile curved her lips. There they saw the corniest, but wonderfully surprising scene they'd ever witnessed in person.

Kira and Athrun stood back-to-back creating the pleasant notes. Athrun held Cagalli's guitar and was responsible for the strumming as Kira hit the tambourine gently to create the background mood. They wore goofy but sheepish grins but honesty seemed above all.

Athrun began with a gentle humming that led into hush-toned words.

_Could be your eyes,  
Could be your smile,  
Could be the way you free my mind  
Your precious touch caressed my soul,  
You gave me everything I need,  
And now I'm lost,  
Lost forever,_

Kira slipped in with a more baritone voice and looked earnestly at Lacus, making her heart flutter.

_Lost forever,  
And you said this is going nowhere, girl  
And you said I turned my back on,  
You said I'm not the only one for you_

_Please give it one more try for the sake of our love  
Let's give it one more chance cause I can't give you up  
I can't live one more day without you in my arms  
I could never find another like you_

Athrun's mood warmed just having caught the smile that quirked at the corners of Cagalli's mouth.

_Could be the lies,  
Could be my pride  
Could be the days and nights so wild  
Could be the times I wasn't there  
And all the nights we didn't share  
And now you're lost,  
Lost forever_

_Lost forever  
And you said this is going nowhere, girl  
And you said I turned my back on  
You said I'm not the only one for you_

Kira's velvety voice dropped elegantly down a lower octave Athrun continued into the next line after a moment's pause from the last break. He continued to strum the guitar soothingly.

_Please give it one more try for the sake of our love  
Let's give it one more chance cause I can't give you up  
I can't live one more day without you in my arms  
I could never find another like you_

_I can't sleep, I can't live without you by my side  
So cold, so lost without you as my guide  
You made me realize I'm nothing,  
Nothing without you_

Cagalli sat up and pulled her legs out of the water. She tapped Lacus on the shoulder and they both shared a silent giggle fit when Kira attempted a higher note in the last line. Athrun led in smoothly and saved his friend from passing out.

_Please give it one more try for the sake of our love  
Let's give it one more chance cause I can't give you up  
I can't live one more day without you in my arms  
I could never find another like you_

_One more try… _

_One more try…_

_One more try…_

After taking turns with the choruses, both sang gently to finish up the rest, their low singing voices resonating nicely together in the quiet of the night.

_Baby, give me One More Try…_

Athrun and Kira broke into wider grins and shared a laugh with their little audience under the moon. Kira called out jokingly to them, "What do you say? Give us another try, will you?"

Cagalli laughed at her brother, "Not so fast though! Here's your chance!"

The blonde got to her feet as Lacus stood up with her. Leaning towards Lacus, Cagalli voiced her thoughts making the pink-haired songstress smile and nod with a happy grin.

Athrun cupped a hand to his mouth and asked, "What're you two thinking?"

The two girls struck a pose as they turned around to face them. Cagalli and Lacus lifted up victory signs with their hands and chimed together:

"**ICE CREAM!** And you guys are paying!"

Athrun and Kira just about fell off the balcony laughing.

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A/N: All right! That concludes it! Happy White Day now! I will be posting reviews for this story (any of my stories for that matter) on my livejournal from now on. You might want to check there every once in a while for and update in responses. Just go click on my homepage in my bio. :3

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